All My Life
by shootingstar46
Summary: Takes place in London, but what if Joey had been there that night instead of Chandler? Will Chandler and Monica still get together?Please R/R!!!


Hey guys...yet another C/M story!!! Ever since Rach rejected Joey (on the   
show) I'm just not in the mood for writing R/J fics. :( Anyway, I don't know   
if this storyline has already been done or not, but here it is.  
Disclaimer: I STILL don't own these characters...doesn't that suck? You'd   
think after all this time...lol...but, anyway...  
  
"Monica." Joey said, almost implying a question as to why she was at his   
room so late.  
  
"Oh, Joey!" She cried, covering her face with her hands, trying to hide the   
tears.  
  
"What is it?" He placed an arm comfortingly on her shoulder.  
  
"Some drunk guy at the rehearsal dinner thought I was Ross' mother!" She   
sobbed. Joey could tell she had had one too many drinks by her slightly   
slurred speech.  
  
"Monica, there's no way you could pass for Ross' mom. You know that...if   
anything, Ross could be YOUR father." He tried to comfort her in a friendly   
embrace.  
  
She smiled a little. She pulled away from him to look into his eyes and   
yanked him back into her arms and kissed him. Apparently she had WAY too   
many drinks .  
  
"Monica, what the hell are you doing?" He pushed her away. "How much have   
you had to drink?"  
  
"I don't know...I don't remember having any drinks." She stammered, trying   
to pull him closer.  
  
"Ohhhhh...so many that you can't remember stuff, huh?" He grinned.  
  
"Sure." She agreed, getting frustrated, stumbling over her own feet.  
  
"So do you think you won't remember ANYTHING about tonight?" He pried.  
  
She just stared blankly, which was quite an accomplishment, considering she   
could barely walk. "Huh?" She eventually replied after a long pause, not   
having absorbed a word Joey had said.  
  
"Perfect." Joey grinned slyly, pulling in her in for another kiss. That was   
just typical Joey. (AN: I know it makes Joey out to be a total jerk, but you   
KNOW he would!!)  
  
***At a bar (Ross and Chandler talking)***  
  
"Well, I say go for it." Ross suggested.  
  
"Really? It's okay with you?" He sounded a bit shocked.  
  
"Chandler, you're a great guy. You're my best friend and I trust you." He   
reassured him.  
  
"Thanks." He smiled, feeling better someone finally knew. "Well, I guess I'm   
going to go...do it now." He said hesitantly. Ross flashed him a look of   
'awwww, I'm so excited for you!'  
  
"Yeah, well I should be going to bed now anyway." He said after a pause. He   
paused once again. "Because...I'M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!!" He shouted excitedly.  
  
"AGAIN!" Chandler couldn't resist.  
  
"You can never just let it go, can ya?" Ross shook his head at Chandler's   
sarcasm.  
  
"Nope." He smiled and left the room. He finally reached the room and knocked   
hastily on the door. No answer. He rapped on the wood once again and still   
no answer. He then recalled the prior events of that evening and ran to his   
and Joey's room.  
  
He took a moment to flatten down his hair, and swung the door open, only to   
be horrified by the scene laid before his eyes. He couldn't say a word.  
  
Joey and Monica parted immediately as they heard the door swing open, but   
not before Chandler could comprehend what was going on.  
  
"Oh, hi Chandler." Joey was unprepared for such an event and found himself   
speechless. "Uhhh...well...Monica and I were just...ummm...we were..."  
  
"No, I got that part." He tried to joke.  
  
"Some guy said Monica looked like Ross mom and she was upset and drank too   
much and felt bad and..." He tried to explain without incriminating himself.  
  
"You don't have to explain to me." He scoffed. "I mean, why would I care if   
you two were together? Why would that bother me? Huh? Why do think that   
would bother me? I could care less about what you two do because it   
obviously doesn't bother me." He snapped at them. They looked at him,   
confused as to why he was so defensive.  
  
Joey walked over to him, noticing his obvious uneasiness. "Hey, are you   
okay?" He questioned.  
  
"No, I'm not." Chandler stated simply. "I have to go." He turned and left, not   
giving either of them the chance to talk to him.  
  
***Earlier that night-back at the bar***  
  
"Chandler, are you okay?" Ross interrogated him finally, bothered by his   
pensive daze that had been entrancing him all night.  
  
"I don't know." Chandler let out a sigh.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I-I-I....I can't tell you this." He stopped himself.  
  
"What?" Ross sounded concerned. He'd known Chandler since college, and they   
had always told each other everything. What was it that Chandler couldn't   
trust him with? "What could possibly be so bad that you can't tell your best   
friend?"  
  
"How bout...I'm in love with your sister?" He winced at the thought of how   
Ross might react.  
  
Ross' jaw dropped. He didn't know how to react. He didn't know what Chandler   
just said, he hoped. "Wait...what?" He twisted his face, not really wanting   
to hear the reply. Chandler just stared at him. It was hard enough the first   
time, he wasn't about to say it again. He just kept looking at him solemnly,   
hoping Ross would see his sincerity.  
  
"Oh, my God." Ross gasped almost inaudibly. It finally sunk in after a good   
two-minute pause. He didn't know what to think.  
  
"Yeah, I know." He grabbed his forehead.  
  
"Wha--Wh--How long has this been going on?"  
  
"Last week. She was upset because she had a bad day at work and I was the   
only one around. She was crying and then we watched a movie and she fell   
asleep cuddled up to me and...that's about it."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yeah." Chandler nodded.  
  
"So why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I didn't know how you'd react. But then again, I guess the day before your   
wedding isn't the best time for this either." He reconsidered. Ross laughed   
a little, not the least bit concerned about this. Chandler was like a   
brother to him...he was more happy for him than anything.  
  
***Back to present***  
  
Chandler sat at the bar, as Joey and Monica were in his room, with his head   
in his hands.'If I had decided to this one hour earlier, it would be me up   
there with her instead of Joey.' He silently reprimanded himself for his   
delayed reaction. He felt awful, like his heart had been smashed into a   
thousand pieces. He had never been in love before and he never wanted to   
again if this was the end result.  
  
He wanted to hate Joey, but he couldn't. It wasn't his fault. How could Joey have possibly known about his feelings? Besides, Chandler should have taken into consideration Joey's natural instinct to take advantage of vulnerable women, having previously witnessed the whole incident with the drunk guy.  
  
"Chandler." Joey panted, bolting into the bar. "Hey, what the hell is the   
matter with you?" He asked.  
  
"I don't really want to talk about it." He turned away from Joey, yet trying   
not to be angry with him.  
  
"Okay, what did I do this time?" He asked in a 'here we go again' sort of   
tone.  
  
"Nothing, it's not your fault."  
  
"What isn't?" He was utterly confused, so in other words, nothing new.   
Chandler stared at him, trying to avoid this, although, ultimately knowing   
he wouldn't be able to get even Joey off the subject it was so obvious.  
  
"C'mon, Chandler. You can tell me." He insisted.  
  
"Okay, well...I...when...This is really hard to say." He laughed and inhaled deeply.   
"When I walked in the room and saw you and Monica kissing, I was coming up   
to tell her that I was in love with her." He sighed as he finished blurting   
it out.  
  
"Oh, my God."  
  
"Ross' words exactly." He replied.  
  
"Well...me and her...that was nothing...I mean...you know how I am...she was   
drunk and upset, could you really expect ME to say no?" He chuckled. "I   
promise she won't remember a thing. She was really...." He giggled.  
  
"That's not funny." Chandler scolded him for his lack of sensitivity.  
  
"Right...sorry." The smile cleared his face at Chandler's irritated tone.  
  
"Hey where is Monica anyway?" Chandler asked.  
  
"Oh, she's up in the room."  
  
"You left her up there by herself?" He shouted.  
  
"What was I going to do, carry her down here with me?"  
  
"Well, I don't know, but she can barely walk, let alone anything else."  
  
"Hey, guys." Monica stumbled in. "Wow, this is a pretty room." She giggled.   
She attempted walk over to them, but tripped over a rug and fell to the   
floor.  
  
"Hey, are you okay?" Chandler helped her up.  
  
"I'm fine!" She pulled away. "And I think I can walk on my own, thank-you   
very much!" She stuttered before dropping to the floor once again.  
  
"I think you need to get back up to your room." Chandler insisted, sweeping   
her up into his arms.  
  
"Put me down!" She yelled.  
  
"Monica, you can't even stand up on your own, do you really want to attempt   
walking?" He tightened his grip through her thrashing.  
  
She eventually calmed down and fell asleep on his shoulder. He was careful not to wake her as he gently laid her in her bed. Just as he was turning the light off, he saw her eyes open slightly. He immediately flicked the light on again.  
  
"Hey, how are you feeling?"He asked.  
  
"Okay, I guess. Except for the pounding headache, I feel great." She tried to laugh as she squinted at the light from the lamp. He smiled at her.  
  
Sudenly, she sprung out of the bed and raced into the bathroom. Chandler chased afeter her to make sure she was alright. She plunged her head into the toilet and began to heave forcefully.  
  
Chandler felt horrible for her, and all he could do was hold her hair. "I think you might've had a little too much to drink." Chandler tried to calm her down with a little of his usual sacasm.  
  
"That is definately a possiblility." She laughed as they emerged from the bathroom.  
  
"I guess you must have been pretty upset about that whole thing with the drunk guy, huh?"  
  
"It wasn't so much what he said, it was just that it made me think 'am I really that unattractive?' I'm almost 30 years old and I don't even have a boyfriend. When I was a kid, I always dreamt that I'd have a family by now. Plus the fact that Ross is getting married just reminds me how lonely I am. I just always wanted nothing more than to be in love and have kids and just...stay in love forever. All this just makes me wonder if that can ever happen for me." She explained in self pity.  
  
"Oh, Mon, you'll find someone. I know you will. You're so beautiful and so full of life, who wouldn't love you?" He paused briefly as he looked into her eyes. "Trust me, this is going to happen for you." He smiled at her.   
  
She hugged him. "Thank-you." He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and confess his feelings, but he couldn't. It wasn't the right time. He envisioned that to be pretty much anytime when she wasn't drunk. So he would wait.  
  
"Hey!" Joey greeted him excitedly when Chandler came back to his room once Monica had fallen asleep. "So....what happened?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"With you and Monica! Did you tell her?" He shouted.  
  
"Oh, yeah, Joe. It was so romantic. As she was throwing up in the toilet I confessed everything." He said sarcastically. Joey, of course, looked completely confused. "No, Joey, I did not tell her!"  
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because I would like her to be sober and not puking when I do! I don't want to take advantage of her like that. She's really upset and it just wouldn't be right."  
  
"So when are you going to do it?" Joey inquired.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow after the wedding." He thought.  
  
***At the wedding reception.***  
  
"This has been a horrible vacation." Monica whined as she saw all her friends on the dance floor. "First someone thinks I'm Ross' mom and now I sprain my ankle and can't even enjoy my own brother's wedding!"   
  
"It's not that bad." He was at a loss for words. It really had been a horrible vacation for her and couldn't think of anything to say that would make her feel better about it. And he feared that what he was about to say would only make it worse.  
  
"I've had better." She looked once again out to the dance floor and rested her chin in her hand in disappointment and boredom.   
  
"I'm sorry. You've been so great to me these last few days and I'm probably making you miserable." She apologized as she saw the look on his face which expressed disappointment.  
  
"No, I'm glad we've gotten to spend time together. I've always kinda regretted the fact that you and I never got a chance to get very close."   
  
"That's so sweet. I never knew you had a sensitive side, Chandler." She giggled.  
  
"Just don't tell anyone." He joked.  
  
There was a long pause before Chandler could finally speak. "Monica, there is something I have been wanting to tell for a while."  
  
"Sure, what is it?" She searched his eyes, trying to decide whether this was good or bad.  
  
"I think I'm falling in love with you." He looked deeply into her eyes, half-expecting her to start laughing. He was a little relieved it was out in the open now, yet was desperately awaiting her reaction.  
  
"Oh, my God." This was all she could think to say. It came as a complete shock to her. She never fathomed that Chandler felt this way about her.  
  
"I don't know what to say." She said in shock.  
  
"Well, I..."  
  
"Except that..." She interrupted him. "I love you too." She smiled and kissed him lightly. He looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Last night, when you were there to comfort me when I felt so terrible, what you said to me, it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." She smiled at him. "That was when I realized what a sweet, sensitive, wonderful person you really were. And then, today, you could have been out there dancing and having fun with everyone else, but instead you stayed here with me, despite the fact that I insisted on complaining about how sorry I feel for myself. That was when I realized I loved you." She admitted.  
  
Chandler heard All My Life by K-Ci and Jo Jo playing and knew he would love Monica all his life and finally did what he had been waiting to do for weeks. He leaned in and kissed her passionately. A tear silently rolled down her face, because now the lonnliness that had engulfed her whole heart and soul for so long, had finally disappeared...forever.  
  
All my life I pray for someone like you  
  
I thank God that I, that I finally found you  
  
All my life I pray for someone like you  
  
I hope that you feel the same way too  
  
Yes, I pray that you do love me too  
  
  
The end  
  
Soooo...did you like it? Please review and tell me what you think! 


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